Andalus and Sefarad: On Philosophy and Its History in Islamic Spain

Sarah Stroumsa; Sarah Stroumsa

Book

Andalus and Sefarad

On Philosophy and Its History in Islamic Spain

Sarah Stroumsa and Sarah Stroumsa

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2019

Published by

View more publications by Princeton University Press

To Publisher Page

About this book

An integrative approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus

Al-Andalus, the Iberian territory ruled by Islam from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, was home to a flourishing philosophical culture among Muslims and the Jews who lived in their midst. Andalusians spoke proudly of the region's excellence, and indeed it engendered celebrated thinkers such as Maimonides and Averroes. Sarah Stroumsa offers an integrative new approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus, where the cultural commonality of the Islamicate world allowed scholars from diverse religious backgrounds to engage in the same philosophical pursuits.

Stroumsa traces the development of philosophy in Muslim Iberia from its introduction to the region to the diverse forms it took over time, from Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism to rational theology and mystical philosophy. She sheds light on the way the politics of the day, including the struggles with the Christians to the north of the peninsula and the Fāṭimids in North Africa, influenced philosophy in al-Andalus yet affected its development among the two religious communities in different ways.

While acknowledging the dissimilar social status of Muslims and members of the religious minorities, Andalus and Sefarad highlights the common ground that united philosophers, providing new perspective on the development of philosophy in Islamic Spain.

Author / Editor information

Sarah Stroumsa is the Alice and Jack Ormut Professor Emerita of Arabic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her books include Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker (Princeton) and Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn al-Rāwandī, Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought.

Reviews

"A most interesting update on the history of Muslim and Jewish philosophy in medieval Iberia. . . . [Andalus and Sefarad] provides interesting new insights into the relevance of Jewish circles in the building of a philosophical tradition"---Miquel Forcada, Speculum --- "Essential to the overall conversation regarding irreligious relationships in Islamic Spain. . . . [Andalus and Sefarad] does an excellent job of integrating previously or currently accepted historical ideologies and placing a new lens over this time period."---Madison Tarleton, Reading Religion --- "Andalus and Sefarad is both a masterful synthesis and a breath of fresh air. . . . [It is] persuasive, multifaceted, authoritative, and well documented."---Anna Ayse Akasoy, Journal of the American Oriental Society --- "

A masterful work.

"---James A. Diamond, Medieval Encounters --- "A wonderful piece of scholarship… a new and comprehensive approach to the history of Jewish and Muslim philosophy." --- "[O]ffers a novel account… of Andalusian philosophy during this time of dizzying political change and explosive intellectual developments."

Topics

Publicly Available

Frontmatter
i

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Contents
vii

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Preface
xi

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Acknowledgments
xv

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Abbreviations
xix

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Transliteration and Dates
xxi

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Introduction
1

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Chapter 1. Beginnings
27

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Chapter 2. Theological and Legal Schools
61

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Chapter 3. Intellectual Elites
81

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Chapter 4. Neoplatonist Inroads
102

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Chapter 5. Aristotelian Neo-Orthodoxy and Andalusian Revolts
124

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Conclusion
162

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

References
171

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Index
213

Download PDF

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

November 18, 2019

eBook ISBN:

9780691195452

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691195452

eBook ISBN: 9780691195452

Keywords for this book

Al-Andalus; Jews; Philosophy; Ibn Masarra; Muslim; Neoplatonism; Theology; Averroes; Maimonides; Erudition; Intellectual history; Jewish philosophy; Islam; Philosopher; Kuzari; Judaism; Judah Halevi; Religion; Font Bureau; Hebrew name; Persecution; Mysticism; Oxford University Press; Aristotelianism; Writing; Islamic–Jewish relations; Sufism; People of the Book; Almohad Caliphate; Abbasid Caliphate; Avicenna; Isaac Israeli; J. (newspaper); Islamic philosophy; The Philosopher; Treatise; Exegesis; Gentile; Literature; Epistle; Heresy; God; Scholasticism; Aristotle; North Africa; Karaite Judaism; Translation Movement; Muslim world; Polemic; Iberian Peninsula; Ibn Juljul; Kairouan; Solomon ibn Gabirol; Explanation; Madrasa; Abraham ibn Daud; Religious text; Origen; Pietism; Empedocles; Abraham ibn Ezra; Narrative; Medieval Hebrew; Typeface; Gnosticism; School of thought; Religious community; Anecdote; Type design; Kabbalah

Audience(s) for this book

For a non-specialist adult audience

Andalus and Sefarad

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Transliteration and Dates

Introduction

Chapter 1. Beginnings

Chapter 2. Theological and Legal Schools

Chapter 3. Intellectual Elites

Chapter 4. Neoplatonist Inroads

Chapter 5. Aristotelian Neo-Orthodoxy and Andalusian Revolts

Conclusion

References

Index

Bibliographic data